How about Twitter links?

Ahem
http://itslifejimbutnotaswknowit.blogspot.com/2009/03/memo-to-barclays-bank.html

P.S. I believe Richard Murphy of Tax Research UK was the first, or one of the first, to link to wikileaks
http://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2009/03/17/barclays-theyve-gagged-the-guardian-are-they-mad/

*Waits for LibCon to be Usmanoved*

How about Twitter links?

#barclaysmemos?

http://tenpercent.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/barclays-tax-scam/

Done

http://d-notice.blogspot.com/2009/03/barclays-memos.html

Where I would be careful is with the whole issue of legal privilege. Where tax advice is provided by lawyers, there’s an ongoing debate about whether this advice is protected by legal privilege (personally, I find it rather a ridiculous position to take in most cases), but it is a real risk.

Thanks! Keep those links coming!

Ben, great idea, will do that now

I also forgot the very wonderful Blood and Treasure

http://bloodandtreasure.typepad.com/blood_treasure/2009/03/follow-the-money.html

Aaron’s done a post: http://tygerland.net/2009/03/20/barclays-memos-online/

Sounds like the al-jazeera memo all over again.

But no one recalls that affair even though two men went to prison because of it.

Done

http://www.mutantblog.co.uk/?p=69

added, thanks! keep em’ coming!

We can’t let the real tax scroungers get away with it.

Have Barclays actually done anything illegal?

One hopes that if Barclays are forced either by legal or moral pressure to pay more tax that they won’t start laying people off to pay for it.

http://errorgorilla.tumblr.com/post/88228627/barclays-lawyers-might-have-succeeded-in-gagging

One hopes that if Barclays are forced either by legal or moral pressure to pay more tax that they won’t start laying people off to pay for it.

The amount Barclays has saved in tax is estimated at £1bn. Their profit for 2008 was £4.3bn. I don’t think that any claim that they are forced to lay off staff will get much sympathy.

Add me too

What really shocks me is the complexity of the proposals and the poor quality of the briefing memos. I would really like to know how long the Barclays Approvals committee spent considering this or if it was a rubber stamp. How well resourced is the committee? Does it obtain independent advice?

This is important as it drives to banks risk management.

Hagley Road to Ladywood joins you guys.
http://mymarilyn.blogspot.com/2009/03/having-barclays.html

Brown has increased the complexity of tax legislation which may have made evasion easier.

“Have Barclays actually done anything illegal?”

Not so far as we can tell in relation to this issue.

Please, for the love of f*ck, tell me you are aware of the blatant gall of the Grauniad criticising people for tax avoidance when they also have similarly legal but highly effective tax strategies, (and are laying people off).

Link also up on Amused Cynicism.

Unfortunately Wikileaks is overloaded — if anyone has the document can they email them to me (cabalamat@googlemail.com) so I can host them on my server.

“Where I would be careful is with the whole issue of legal privilege. Where tax advice is provided by lawyers, there’s an ongoing debate about whether this advice is protected by legal privilege (personally, I find it rather a ridiculous position to take in most cases), but it is a real risk.”

Legal privilege protects confidential advice given by a lawyer from being used as evidence in court against the recipient. So what is the risk to individuals who have no intention of using it in court?

The only risks I can identify are: (i) the person disclosing it either being sued (as the Guardian was) or (ii) being fined for contempt of court for breach of the court order.